Entries in Bullying
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TOKYO) -- Facing mounting public scrutiny for their handling of a bullying case that drove a 13-year-old boy to commit suicide, the Japanese city of Otsu signaled they would settle a lawsuit filed by the victim’s parents on Tuesday, acknowledging for the first time a direct link between the harassment and the teenager’s death.

Defense lawyer Yuichi Shiraki offered an emotional apology on behalf of the city outside a packed courthouse.

“The school’s insufficient actions and probe by the board of education…led family members and the victim to the depths of despair, leaving no choice but death,” Shiraki said, his head deeply bowed. “On behalf of the city of Otsu, I deeply apologize.”

The acknowledgement came less than a week after police launched an investigation into the boy’s suicide last fall, amid growing suspicions the school and board of education tried to cover up the incident.

The middle school student jumped from his 14th floor apartment last October after enduring excessive bullying at the hands of his classmates. In an anonymous survey conducted by Otsu’s board of education, students reported the victim was pressured into shoplifting, and had his legs and arms tied while bullies duck-taped his mouth.

Some reportedly watched as their classmates forced the teen to eat dead bees, “pantsed” him and forced him to “practice” committing suicide. Other students reported seeing teachers join in on the harassment, laughing at the victim as he was choked.

In one of his last acts, the victim texted his tormentors and left voice mails saying, “I’m going to die.” They texted him back to say, “You should die.”

Those revelations sparked national outrage with angry parents accusing teachers of looking the other way.

The number of bullying cases have declined in recent years, according to data from the Education Ministry, but critics argue those figures just provide a snapshot of the scope of the problem, since many victims are too afraid to come forward.

On Monday, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda denounced bullying as an “embarrassing and dirty” act during a live interview with Fuji-TV. He then addressed the victims directly.

“There are people who care about you. I promise you there are people who want to protect you,” he said. “Please believe that and report the abuse to your father, mother, teachers, friends, anybody.”

In court, the three students accused of harassing the victim denied doing anything harmful, saying “We were just playing around,” according to Japanese media reports.

The Board of Education has maintained they could not prove a direct link between bullying and the student’s suicide, though chair Kenji Sawamura denied saying the abuse was not a factor.

The city has launched a new investigation into the case, while police plan to interview hundreds of students and parents before deciding whether to proceed with their own criminal case.

The teen’s parents, who are seeking more than $950,000 in damages, acknowledged the city’s apology but called for the truth to come out so other victims could be saved.

“Watching the press conference by the city and board of education, I cannot help but think my son was betrayed by them,” the father wrote in a statement read by his lawyer.

Ron Chapple Studios/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The suicide of a 13-year-old boy in southern Japan after classmates systematically bullied him — even making him “practice” suicide — while teachers ignored the abuse or laughed has prompted soul-searching among educators across the country.

One of the boy’s last acts was to text his tormentors and leave voicemails for them to say, “I’m going to die.” They texted him back to say, “You should die.”

The middle school student, whose name has not been released, jumped from his 14th floor apartment in the city of Otsu last October after enduring heartrending tales of abuse at the hands of his classmates.

His father filed several reports with the police, but officers never accepted them, saying that they could not prove that bullying led to his suicide, according to Japanese media reports.

Details of the harassment are coming to light eight months later, following a student survey conducted by the city’s board of education. In that anonymous survey, students write the bullying escalated to “punching and kicking” in September last year, about a month before the teen jumped to his death. The victim was pressured into shoplifting, had his legs and arms tied while bullies duck-taped his mouth. Students watched as their peers pressured the teen into eating dead bees, “pantsed” him, and made him “practice” committing suicide.

In the survey, some classmates report alerting teachers to those “practices,” but say nothing was done. Instead, teachers reportedly laughed as bullies tried to choke the victim.

“He was forced to eat paper, students choked him. Teachers only gave a verbal warning, but then joined in on the bullying by laughing,” comments in the survey read.

Today, the tearful mayor of Otsu, Naomi Koshi, said that she would launch a new investigation into the teen’s suicide to “seek the truth,” calling the board’s survey “inadequate.”

“I feel awful I have to put students through this again,” Koshi said. “I cannot apologize to the students enough.”

Local media report Otsu has been bombarded with hundreds of calls and emails from angry parents since the bullying came to light on July 4. A bomb threat was called into the board Thursday, forcing students to go home early.

The teen’s family has not commented publicly on the case since the new details surfaced, but in a letter sent to Koshi, the boy’s father called on the mayor to “seek the truth” and come up with a new anti-bullying policy.

“I want bullying to disappear from every school in Japan,” he wrote. “I want schools to become a safe place again.”